454. The Court also underlines that article 3 of Law No. 169-14 excludes the possibility of regularizing “records based on false information, identity theft, or any other act that constitutes falsifying a public deed, provided that the act can be attributed directly to the beneficiary.” The Court has been informed of administrative and judicial proceedings to decide on the annulment of records and documentation of Willian Medina Ferreras, Awilda Medina, Luis Ney Medina, and Carolina Isabel Medina (deceased), as well as on the criminal sanction of presumed wrongful acts in this regard. These proceedings originated from an administrative investigation arising from the fact that Willian Medina Ferreras was a plaintiff, under the inter-American system, requiring that the Court declare the international responsibility of the Dominican Republic (supra para. 208). Thus, the facts reveal that the actions and interviews on September 26 and 27, 2013, that resulted in other proceedings, including of a judicial nature (supra para. 207), were conducted “because this person is suing the Dominican State before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights” (supra para. 207). 455. Consequently, it should be recalled that Article 53 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure establishes that “States may not prosecute […] presumed victims, or […] implement reprisals against them […] on account of their statements […] or their legal defense before the Court.” 489 456. It should be recalled that States have the power to institute proceedings to penalize or annul acts contrary to their laws. However, Article 53 of the Rules of Procedure prohibits, in general, the “prosecut[ion]” or the implementation of “reprisals” on account of “statements or [the] legal defense” before the Court. The purpose of this norm is to ensure that those who intervene in the proceedings before the Court may do so freely, in the certainty that it will not prejudice them. Hence, regardless of whether or not the documentation relating to Willian Medina Ferreras and the members of his family is null and void, or whether or not an offense was committed (matters that the State may investigate), in this case the explicit reason behind certain administrative investigations relating to some victims, which resulted in judicial proceedings, was the fact that the State was being sued in the international sphere, In these circumstances, the Court notes that the State’s conduct has impaired the safety of the procedural activity that Article 53 seeks to protect. Thus, the Court cannot consider that legal proceedings arising from a violation of Article 53 of the Rules of Procedure are valid, because this provision could not achieve its purpose if proceedings instituted in violation of the provision were found to be legitimate. Therefore, notwithstanding the State’s power to take measures under its domestic laws and its international undertakings to punish acts that are contrary to domestic law, the above-mentioned administrative and judicial proceedings cannot represent an obstacle to compliance with any of the measures of reparation ordered in this Judgment, including that related to the adoption of measures aimed at providing Willian Medina Ferreras, Awilda Medina and Luis Ney Medina with the documentation required to prove their identity and Dominican nationality. 490 457. Based on the above, the Dominican Republic must also adopt, within six months, the necessary measures to annul the said administrative investigations, as well as the civil 489 It should be placed on record that, in their observations of April 10 and 14, 2014 (supra para. 19), respectively, both the representatives and the Commission asserted that the judicial proceedings related to the documentation of Willian Medina Ferreras and his family members “could be a retaliation […] for having recourse to the organs of the [inter-American] system,” or the State could be “violating the regulatory norm according to which States may not take reprisals against those who testify before the Court.” 490 Thus, if eventually applicable, the administrative and judicial proceedings underway in relation to the said persons cannot result in the application of Article 3 of Law No. 169-14 (supra para. 454). 143